Senior Leader Shares Career Strategies for Legal Professionals

Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, Global Businesses Tracy Ross discusses her
move to an in-house role, career advancement and her team’s contribution to RBC’s historic
acquisition of HSBC Bank Canada.
Tracy Ross Headshot
Tracy Ross is Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, Global Businesses at RBC
With more than two decades at RBC, Tracy Ross had held progressive senior leadership roles across several business groups and now oversees the legal function for the company’s global businesses and products, as well as Government Relations. Supporting one of Canada’s largest banks presents unique opportunities for her team that numbers 160. She was also one of the key legal leaders involved in RBC’s historic $13.5 billion acquisition of HSBC Bank Canada in March 2024, a transaction recognized as the M&A Deal of the Year at the Canadian Law Awards in 2025. In this excerpt from the Canadian Lawyer Magazine podcast, CL Talk, Tracy reflects on her career journey and the highlights along the way.

How did your career begin?
After earning my law degree from the University of Western Ontario and finishing my practical training, I worked at a law firm for about two years completing discrete transactions. I liked the work, but I wanted a wider scale, and banking seemed like a good industry in which to learn. I applied for jobs at a couple of different banks and was hired by RBC’s Capital Markets legal department. I had never worked with capital markets before and knew nothing about it but it was a great opportunity to learn and I ended up loving it. Over time I became a subject matter expert on various issues, moved into a leadership role, and now I’ve been at RBC for more than two decades.
RBC Employee - Tracy Ross
Tracy at a Chief Legal and Administrative Officer Group town hall in 2024. 
What makes RBC a great place to work for those who want to grow their legal career?
RBC’s size, global reach and business diversity means there are many career opportunities. Whether it’s retail banking, commercial banking, capital markets or insurance, there are several business groups where you can make an impact. I have worked outside of the Law Group including in areas like front office, risk management and compliance and it’s been very rewarding. Taking on new roles helped me develop skills and demonstrated my ability and willingness to tackle a variety of challenges, which opened up new opportunities for me. RBC is very supportive of internal movement and supports employee growth by investing in learning resources and training, so employees can train for the job they want, not just the one they have.

What is your approach to leadership?
One of the biggest takeaways for me as a leader is the trust I have in my team as subject matter experts. I’ve probably learned more from them then they’ve learned from me in many ways. So, I would say my leadership style is just trusting your people, giving them room to grow and giving them the experiences I wanted as I was growing up through the bank.

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Your team played a pivotal role in the HSBC Bank Canada acquisition. How did that acquisition compare to other M&A deals you’ve worked on?
It was quite complex. We have worked on other M&A deals that involved buying or selling parts of the business and usually there is a transition period of potentially up to a year but HSBC Bank Canada closed over a four-day weekend which is unheard of. There were competition laws, as well as privacy and confidentiality issues with RBC acquiring information about HSBC Bank Canada clients before the close.

So, RBC had to convert that information quickly over the weekend so that clients could complete financial activities, like use their debit cards, pay their mortgage, use credit cards, etc.

The Law Group helped set up solutions and testing within a legal framework that was quite restrictive which required discussion with regulators and service providers. During the cutover weekend more than 60 members of the Law Group were at the command center along with employees from various areas of the business and other functions. The team worked in shifts over the four-day weekend to ensure we were available to advise in case any issues arose. It was amazing to see all these teams come together as ‘One RBC’ to support this important acquisition.

Interested in learning more about Tracy’s career and the Law Group’s role in the acquisition? Listen to the entire CL Talk Podcast.
A word from our lawyers

This article offers general information only and is not intended as legal, financial or other professional advice. A professional advisor should be consulted regarding your specific situation. While information presented is believed to be factual and current, its accuracy is not guaranteed and it should not be regarded as a complete analysis of the subject matter discussed. All expressions of opinion reflect the judgment of the author(s) as of the date of publication and are subject to change. No endorsement of any third parties or their advice, opinions, information, products or services is expressly given or implied by Royal Bank of Canada or its affiliates.

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